Record Reviews

ORANGE THE JUICE ~ THE DRUG OF CHOICE FOR TUNE 0031 (Barcode: 5902768701333) ~ POLAND ~ Pop & Rock Recorded: 2012 Released: 2014 This is a live recording by Polish alternative Rock group Orange The JuiceFind albums by this artist, which appears here both in audio and video formats with almost identical contents. The band comprises of vocalist Konrad ZawadzkiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Dawid LewandowskiFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Mariusz GodzinaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist / cornetist Marcin Albert SteczkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin JadachFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan KiedrzynskiFind albums by this artist. Guest musicians include vocalist Ida ZalewskaFind albums by this artist and an extended brass section. The album presents fourteen original songs, all but one composed by the entire group with lyrics written by Zawadzki. As appropriate for a Polish alternative / Avant-Garde Rock ensemble, Orange The Juice stretch the borders of the genre by expanding into such extremely disassociated idioms as Death Metal and Free Jazz. Strangely enough and against all odds this bizarre amalgam works very well overall and this is definitely a challenging, but superbly executed and highly interesting piece of contemporary music. The ensemble freely ignores all conventions and limitations, jumping within one tune from hysteric Death Metal screams, via melodic ballad into an improvised Jazz section, somehow managing to connect the dots very effectively. Of course such daring approach is only justified if it is based on real music, which of course is true in this case. Judging by the group´s success on the local scene in the time following this live recording, which (at the time of writing these notes) is already three years old, it seems that the potential they show here was fully realized. It is recommended to lend the listener´s ear to this, now archival, recording in order to follow their development and see the roots of their music. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Updated: 28/10/2019Posted:

CD+DVD 2 Recommend To A Friend

IDA ZALEWSKA ~ STORYTELLING HEVHETIA 0118 (Barcode: 8588005257725) ~ POLAND ~ Blues Recorded: 2015 Released: 2016 This is the third album by Polish vocalist / songwriter Ida ZalewskaFind albums by this artist, recorded with a quartet comprising of pianist Kuba PluzekFind albums by this artist, who also arranged all the songs, guitarist Szymon MikaFind albums by this artist, bassist Jakub DworakFind albums by this artist and drummer Damian NiewinskiFind albums by this artist, all of them representatives of the young generation of the Polish Jazz scene. The album presents ten original songs, six of which were co-composed by Pluzek and Zalewska, three are by trumpeter Jerzy MalekFind albums by this artist and one is by pianist Bogdan HolowniaFind albums by this artist. Zalewska wrote the lyrics to seven of the songs and Joanna MajorkiewiczFind albums by this artist to the remaining three; five of songs have Polish lyrics and the other five have English lyrics. Although the album is somewhat jazzed up, mostly by the presence of the Jazz musicians, Zalewska is body and soul oozing the Blues, with her deep, sensual voice and vocal mannerisms all originating in the Blues idiom. There is none of the typical Polish lyrical melancholy and Slavic mysticism here (well almost); it is all one or another form of the Blues. Pluzek, as the composer, arranger and main accompanist took the bull by its horns and produced a diverse but consisted body of music, which is built around Zalewska´s capabilities. The instrumental work on this album is relatively modest, and except for Pluzek, who carries most of the weight on his shoulders, the rest of the quartet is rather subdued. Mika plays a few very nice solos, but on a Blues album one would expect a much more dominant guitar presence. The rhythm section has little more to do than to keep time, which they do pretty straightforwardly. Pluzek contributes some nice solo parts and serves the role of the accompanist amicably. Overall, although not really my cup of gumbo, this album is definitely something fans of Soul drenched American Blues will enjoy a lot. The biggest problem this album presents to me is with the lyrics: the English lyrics are fine but Zalewska´s pronunciation is a bit off, the Polish lyrics sound really unnatural in this environment and don´t fit the music very well. I guess Blues was not meant to be sung in Polish. Anyway these are minor points and I guess this music can do very well live, much better than in a sterile studio environment.

Updated: 28/02/2016Posted: 28/02/2016

CD 1 Mini-Sleeve Recommend To A Friend